Enhancing the Quality Characteristics of Plantain (Apantu) Through Different Postharvest Treatments

Abstract

Plantain production in Ghana is bedeviled with some postharvest problems despite the fact that it is an important subsistence and cash crop for small scale rural producers. These postharvest problems affect quality of plantain offered on the market and increase losses. Generally, because plantain handlers are reluctant to bear extra costs during the postharvest activities, interventions to reduce the postharvest problems of plantain must take into consideration cost. This study was conducted to improve the quality of plantain during the postharvest handling period using of different postharvest methods and treatments. The study was sectioned into two parts. The first part was a survey conducted to evaluate the postharvest handling practices of plantain and the difficulties involved during the handling chain. Fifty (50) plantain handlers at Agbogbloshie, Madina, Dome and Texpo markets in the Accra Metropolis and Adeiso market in the Eastern region were the respondents. The major postharvest problems encountered by these respondents were; Distribution/Transportation (24%), Delaying Ripening (20%), Storage facilities (18%), Packaging (16%), Hastening ripening (14%), Finance (6%) and Others (2%). The experimental part of the study involved using locally available and affordable postharvest methods and treatments to improve on some of the postharvest problems identified during the survey. Plantains transported in wooden box with plantain leaves lining or polyethylene lining and plastic basket with plantain leaves lining, polyethylene lining or no lining as well as paper carton with plantain leaves lining, polyethylene lining or no lining significantly reduced bruises and reduced peel/pulp softening at 5% probability level than transporting without packaging. As determined by the peel color, pulp firmness, titratable acidity, total soluble solids, reducing sugar and starch content monitored for 8 days, the black polyethylene bag proved a better storage material by significantly preserving the quality and extending the green life of plantain for 192 hours while ripening proceeded faster in the blue polyethylene bag than the black, yellow, transparent, white polyethylene bags and the control. The use of shredded and moistened plantain pseudo stem wrapped in polyethylene sheet as a storage material for plantain preserved the freshness quality and increased the green life of plantain from 4-7 to 16 days but when KMnO4 was added, the green life was shortened and ripening begun after 8 days. Corn dough alone as a treatment could not induce ripening in plantain within 24 hours as measured by peel color (1.67), titratable acidity (0.28), total soluble solids (8.00), starch content (3.83) and reducing sugars (0.57) but ripening was achieved within 24 hours in all samples of plantain where CaC2 was used as a treatment due to the generation of acetylene gas. Consequently, wooden box, plastic basket and paper packaging with either leaves or polyethylene sheet lining could be promoted as locally available and low cost transportation materials as well as using the black polyethylene bag and/or shredded plantain pseudo stem as a storage material to extend the green life of plantain. Patrons of ripe plantain should also watch out when they are buying from the market since some of the market women are still using the banned calcium carbide to ripen the plantain.